Who's your daddy?
by Sam Waterston Fan
Summary: A woman is mysteriously murdered, can the team find out who? Adam's girlfriend has a baby, does the baby really belong to Adam and what happens to her when she disappears.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is set after the Season 7 episode, DO OR DIE.**

**This show and the primary characters do not belong to me. **

**These characters belong to me: Annie Stanton, Traci Moon, Maxwell Zacks, Marcia Robb, Romel Bryant, Scott Zacks, Nick Craig, Tim Guillien, Angela Morgan, Roy Dibble, Jeremiah O'Dell, Darlene Viola, Mary Patton, Jasmine Viola, Charlie Harmon, Zoe Anderson, and Mike LaRoache. **

**6pm, March 15th, 2011-**

Adam went to see his girlfriend, Annie Stanton, at her apartment, since she had given birth a few days earlier. Adam and Annie had dated off and on over the last several months. No one from the lab knew he was dating, but they noticed a nervous change in Adam. He knocked on the door, and a friend of hers, Traci Moon, answered it.

"Hi, Adam." She opened the door, Adam walked in, and she closed it behind him.

"Hi." Adam felt nervous when he followed Traci to the living room where Annie sat on the couch with her baby in her arms. "Hi, Annie. How are you feeling?" Adam was happy that Annie was no longer pregnant because she didn't seem to really handle being pregnant very well.

"Hi, Adam," Annie said as she turned towards Adam who sat next to her and he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Awww," a few of Annie's friends said. Traci sat in the chair near Annie while Jeremiah O'Dell sat in another chair across from Traci with a coffee table in between them.

"I'm glad you are home though," Adam said.

"So am I. And this little guy was born at 2:35pm on March 12th." She smiled while the baby she held in her arms gave a whine then went back to sleep.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the birth." Adam sat forward, and looked at her as he rubbed his hands together slightly.

"But you were there after your shift and came the next day," Annie said with a smile then Adam sat back and put his hands on his lap.

"Oh, come on. You men are all alike, you make the baby then you just act like you are happy but you just go back to being lazy," Traci said.

"Traci, Adam had taken someone's shift on Saturday, he couldn't back out. Then Sunday his friend had a birthday party so Adam couldn't back out of that either," she said as she looked at her friend angrily. She turned and looked at Adam and softly said, "Sorry Adam."

"That's okay." Adam smiled even though he was a bit insulted, "C-c-can I hold him?" Adam asked.

"Sure." Adam had his arms in a cradle hold and Annie carefully slid the baby from her arms onto his as the baby started to cry a bit.

"Ooooh," everyone said.

"How is that?" Annie asked as she made sure the baby's head was in the crook of Adam's arm.

"Good."

"So what's his name?" Jeremiah asked. He sat forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Maxwell James Ross." Annie and Adam smiled.

"So, are you saying that Adam is the father?" Traci asked, knowing Adam's last name was Ross.

"Yes," Annie said while she smiled at her friend and Adam smirked a bit.

Adam was pretty sure he wasn't the father but he didn't want to make a fuss about it in front of her friends, so he just nodded.

After a few minutes Annie showed her friends out, and sighed while she walked to the kitchen and made dinner. Adam still held Max in his arms. Adam was very quiet while he looked at his son and pondered that night, 9 months ago. Adam got up, walked over to the bar, knelt down, carefully put Max in the car seat, stood up, took the car seat to the table and placed it on the chair. The table was set and they both ate while Max slept.

**March 17th, 5pm-**

It was a dark and cloudy day in New York where it rained most of the time, but it had stopped raining two hours earlier, but the high winds remained. Jo was standing at the window at the lab looking outside when her cell phone rang. She reached in her pocket and grabbed it as she went into Mac's office to get a piece of paper and a pen.

"Danville," Jo said, quickly writing down where the crime scene was. "Got it, I'm on my way." Jo sighed while she left Mac's office, hung up the phone, and put it in her pocket. She held the piece of paper in her hand when she turned to see Danny walking from the lab. "Did you get the call just now?"

"South end of Central Park with a body?" Jo nodded her head. "Yeah, let's go," Danny sighed as they both left for the truck in the garage.

Twenty minutes later they arrived to see a few officers standing guard near the body. They nodded when they saw Jo and Danny get out of their truck and approach. The body lay in a grassy area rimmed by bushes around the ridge.

"What do we have?" Jo asked. She took a step over a bush, put the case down near the body, and squatted near the head.

"A guy walking his dog saw him go in that small hole in the bush and then the owner went to see what the dog was doing, or if he needed to clean up his mess. Then he saw the body and grabbed the dog. He then called 911," Marcia Robb, the responding officer, said while she pointed to the man holding his dog, who was talking to her partner, Romel Bryant.

"The dog didn't uh..." Danny turned towards the officer as he stood opposite of Jo with his camera.

"Well, the dog didn't do his thing, did he?" Jo smiled as she knew what Danny was getting at.

"No," Marcia said then walked back to Romel who was still taking down information from the man.

"That's good." Danny took some pictures of the body then squatted near the arms as he continued taking pictures of her limbs, chest, and head, then he put the camera down.

He squatted near her legs and used a flashlight to see if there was any trace. He found no trace then he looked at her jacket for any other trace, shining his flashlight on her as he did so.

"I don't see much of anything but she is bundled up. I wonder if the wound is under her clothes." The wind howled as they both shivered in the cold then Jo looked at the dark clouds that had been getting darker.

Danny unbuttoned her jacket and her chest showed no visible wounds, then he snapped the jacket closed so it wouldn't get wet.

Danny saw Jo move the victim's head, revealing a gash on the back of her head. "There seems to be a red mark on her cheek. On the back of her head there's blunt force trauma, is that enough to kill her? I don't really think so. But I think her hair is wet in the back."

Danny squatted again and Jo turned her shoulder so Danny could feel her jacket which felt wet. "It has been raining but she isn't drenched or anything."

"I think this is a dump job. We need to get her back to the morgue before it starts to rain on us." Jo turned the vic on her her back then squatted near her chest, checking her jacket pocket and pants pockets to see if there was any ID and there wasn't.

"I think you're right," Danny said then looked around the bushes for any trace but there was none.

"No blood or any signs of a struggle even though if the struggle happened here, the rain washed it away," Jo said. The ME van showed up and the attendants got out, retrieved the stretcher from the back, then went to get the body.

"Are you done?" the attendant asked.

"Yes," Jo said as she stood up. She and Danny watched the body be carried out on a back board, then be loaded onto the stretcher to be taken to the waiting truck to go back to the morgue.

Just as Jo and Danny got in the truck it started pouring. They put their seat belts on then Jo turned the ignition and started to drive back to the lab.

"Good thing we finished," Jo said as she watched the water splash on the hood and the wipers slapping the rain, bearly keeping up though they had been turned to the fastest setting.

"Yeah. But it hadn't rained rained since two, so I'm thinking the killer just recently dumped her there." Danny turned to see a car in the next lane whose wipers were also going in overdrive.

At the lab, Adam was at the A/V lab finishing up his report on the video he processed when his cellphone rang. He sat back, took out his phone from his pocket and answered. "Ross. Hi Annie. I can't, I got a half hour on my shift, okay. Can't you check with your friends who have kids about that? Okay, I'll see you in a bit, bye," He put his cell back in his pocket and sighed loudly.

A few minutes later Jo walked out of the elevator and headed towards Adam but then saw he was not in the A/V lab. She checked her watch when Danny approached.

"Where's Adam?" Danny asked as he saw the empty seat.

"I don't know, hopefully he went to get some water."

"I've already uploaded the pictures so I'm gonna go ahead and do the facial recognition so we can ID the vic." Danny looked around for Adam, then sat in his seat and clicked on the mouse to open a photo file he had uploaded.

"Okay," Jo said, arching her eyebrow in suspicion then walked over to her office to look over some files from another case.

After a half hour, Danny didn't get any hits on who she might be yet, so he updated his log before heading to the lockers to get his umbrella and jacket. While Jo was in her office, she got her jacket and umbrella as well, then both Danny and Jo met near the elevators.

"By the way, did Adam show up again?" Danny asked while he pushed the down button.

"No, he didn't and I didn't call him actually. He's probably working in Trace but he's off right now. Do you know what is bothering him?" The elevators opened, they stepped in and turned towards the lab, then the doors closed.

"No. He's been upset the last few days."

"Hopefully it will resolve itself."

Once they left the building, they got hit by the cold rain and wind, so they hailed two cabs since the umbrellas would be useless in the wind. Danny hailed a cab which stopped. "See you tomorrow, Jo."

"Bye," Jo said. She gave the cab driver her address while Danny closed the door and watched the cab drive away then he got his own cab.

**March 18th, 8am-**

Don got out of his car and walked into the precinct where he saw a man and a woman near the front desk.

"Can I help you?" he said as he looked at them.

"I hope so." The woman, Jasmine Viola, was full of worry.

"We called last night and they told us to wait and we want to know if we can file a missing persons yet. Her name is Darlene Viola." The man, Don Viola looked very concerned.

"Come with me. Do you have a photo of the person you feel is missing?"

The woman reached into her purse and gave Don the photo, which he scanned it with his eyes.


	2. Resentment

Lindsay, Danny, and Sheldon went to Darlene's home to process any evidence. Lindsay was in front of the living room window from where she could see Adam arrive. She watched him walk behind his truck, then get on his phone and talk for a few minutes. He seemed annoyed, then he looked around, hung up his phone, went back in his truck and took off. "Oh, no you didn't," Lindsay said, but then she thought about when she left the crime scene a few years back, and wondered if Mac had ever asked Stella where she went when she left the scene.

Sheldon looked at the door and saw there was no evidence that the house had been broken into.

He used the fingerprint dust and brushed it on the door to see if there were any prints. He used the fingerprint collector and closed the other half and saw what appeared to be knuckle prints. He put it in his case, picked it up, then went in Darlene's room to help with the processing of her room.

"Where is Adam?" Sheldon asked as he put the case down and looked at Lindsay.

"I told him to go back to the lab."

"Okay." Sheldon was taken aback by what Lindsay did but wondered if there was something going on.

There was a pile of clothes in the corner of Darlene's room that Lindsay started to go through. After looking at a few items then setting them aside, she noticed a shirt that had blood on the front.

"I wonder if this is the shirt she wore when she was shot. There is even gunshot residue on it." She looked at the shirt, then carefully placed it in an evidence bag.

Sheldon turned towards Lindsay. "Our killer redressed her?" he asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Looks that way." Lindsay saw a pair of pants that had some blood on the top of them. She put the pants in another bag and closed it. She then put the rest of the pile of clothes in a bag then noticed one of the lab techs took Darlene's computer out of the room to take it back to the lab.

"This is a very strange killer. Maybe she was naked when she was shot," Danny suggested.

Sheldon and Lindsay gave him a funny look.

At the morgue, Sid had finished examining Darlene's body and was talking to Mac and Jo.

Sid showed them her wrists. "There are sticky substances on her wrists and I sent samples to trace." Sid reached for a small tube and gave it to Jo. "Here are the two bullets that were in her chest. She bled out."

"Maybe a .45. So she was bound?" Mac said then asked.

"She wasn't bound when we found her," Jo said.

"Yes, even though like Jo said, she wasn't bound when she came in. What is most peculiar is that she was shot in the chest but it appears she was not wearing any clothes when she was shot since there was no blood on her shirt," Sid walked back to her head.

"That makes no sense, Sid," Jo said as she folded her arms.

"I can't explain why there is no bullet hole in that shirt she wore when she was found, but her stomach was half-full and here are her contents." Sid gave Mac a closed cup that held her stomach contents.

"So, there wasn't any trace on her?" Mac asked.

"I did a rape kit and she was negative for that. The back of her clothes were wet which would suggest she was dumped after it stopped raining but there wasn't any trace on her other than on her back and her hair from the wet grass. The killer was very careful. Also, there is a red mark. I did send it to trace to see what it is but I think she was slapped," Sid said.

"Who would slap this girl?" Jo asked angrily as she looked at the woman's face. The men said nothing, looking sadly at her.

"There is a primary crime scene where she was shot and it has probably been compromised by the rain and neighbors didn't report any disturbances yesterday." Mac looked at them then continued, "I think we need to talk to her friends." Mac's cell rang and he picked it up. "Taylor. Okay, we will be here." Mac hung up, put the phone in his pocket, and looked at Jo. "Don is on his way here with Darlene's parents to do an ID." Jo sighed then walked away with Mac.

**At Annie's apartment-**

Adam arrived at his girlfriend's apartment, knocked on the door, and was told to come in. He was very worried when he walked in. He closed the door behind him when he saw Annie on the couch with Max.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he sat next to her. She looked scared, but Max was sleeping.

"It's okay now, I got it. I just wanted to see you." She smiled.

"That's it? You're okay?"

"Yeah. I think I just need some time alone though. I can't do this."

Adam felt a bit angry but hid it from her. "Okay. There is a daycare center at the crime lab, we can register him there."

"Okay. I want to go out the next few nights."

"Annie, you have a responsibility to him and you can't keep dumping him on my lap or your friends all the time. I do have to work Saturday night so you have to stay home and obviously the daycare would be closed." Adam said then smiled and Annie got up and gave him a kiss with Max in her arms.

"Oh, can't you just call out? I don't want to do this."

Adam stopped and looked at her when he said, "I have to work, I cannot call out. You need to be a mother to him."

"Fine."

"Please, don't call me too much because I can't keep leaving the lab the way I have. I'm lucky no one has said anything." Adam knew he would be in trouble if someone saw him leave Darlene's home.

"I'll try not to."

Adam drove back to the crime lab, quietly walked in the elevator, and pressed the button for the lab. A few moments later the elevator opened; he peered out and saw Mac's office was empty, then he snuck out to the A/V lab and sat down. A few minutes later he heard loud footsteps that sounded like women's shoes. He turned his chair slowly and saw Lindsay walking very quickly up to him. She looked very angry at him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, Lindsay," Adam said as he realized he was probably in trouble, so he turned his chair and looked at her.

She turned towards Adam with her arms folded. "Adam, I saw you leave the crime scene, you cannot be doing that. Sheldon asked where you were and I told him that I sent you back to the lab."

Adam turned a bit, rubbed his hair then looked at Lindsay, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, just don't make it a habit. What is going on with you?" Lindsay said in a comforting tone.

Adam walked towards Lindsay then sighed, "Well, it seems that I have a son and my girlfriend is still dealing with being a new mom," Adam said as he looked at her.

Lindsay was shocked to hear what Adam had told her. "Adam, Congratulations! I take it I'm the only one in the lab who knows."

"Yeah," Adam said while he looked confused but he smiled.

"If you need my help, I'm here for you. Please, don't leave the crime scenes like that and you should consider yourself lucky Mac wasn't there."

"Thanks for the help. I hope Mac doesn't know."

"I have a shirt that I collected for you to process while I go to ballistics to see what type of gun was used."

"Okay."

Adam arrived at Trace, saw the bag, and unfolded the top to get the shirt that Lindsay had found. He put the bag aside, put the shirt flatly on the table, and used the magnifier to look at the blood and the hole. He got a round white pad, sprayed some chemicals on it, then patted the area where the hole was, then he looked at the pad that showed gunshot residue.

**March 19,th 11am-**

Meanwhile, at the home of Darlene's friend, Zoe Anderson, Danny and Jo knocked on the door.

"Hi. Can I help you?" Zoe asked as she looked at them.

"I'm Detective Danville and this is Detective Messer, are you Zoe Anderson?"

"Yeah. Come on in." Zoe opened the door so they could come in.

The detectives sat on the couch and Zoe sat on the chair in front of them.

Zoe felt nervous and wondered if something happened to Darlene as she saw the sadness in their faces. "Is Darlene okay?"

"What makes you say she's in trouble?" Jo asked.

Zoe said, "Because her mom called last night when she didn't come home and I've been thinking about her for the last several hours."

Danny gave a somber look. "No, I'm afraid she's dead," Danny said.

She looked at them shocked, her mouth opened a little, and she asked, "What happened?"

"She was shot," Jo said then continued, "Is there anyone who wanted to hurt her?"

She hesitated quietly and sighed, "No, but there is something that happened at a party that she went to that I heard about. I really can't see him doing it."

"What happened?" Danny asked.

She sighed again, sadly before replying, "Well, she got slapped in the face by Charlie Harmon."

Jo leaned forward and asked, "Why did he slap her?" She felt angry that a boy would hit a girl even though she knew it does happen.

"I'm not sure how it got started but it had to do with what Darlene said to him about President Obama."

"What did he say?" Danny asked.

"He said that President Obama was a great president and doing a great job. Darlene told him that he was wrong and an idiot if he voted for Obama just because he was black. Then he slapped her."

"Did anyone say anything about it?" Jo asked.

"I asked Darlene about it a few days after the party and she said she didn't want to make a big fuss. I have heard some things about Charlie though, that he thinks everything is racist. I know some people who went to the party though, did you want their names?"

"Yes, please," Jo said kindly. She and Danny looked at each other.

Meanwhile, Mac and Don were at Mike LaRoache's home talking to him about Darlene.

"Is Darlene okay?" Mike asked as he sat on his chair.

"No, she was found murdered," Don said sadly.

"How?"

"That is under investigation. Is there anyone who wanted to hurt her or was mad at her?"

Mike looked nervous as he explained, "Well, I know of an incident and um... well... I uh..."

Mac looked at him as he narrowed his eyes a bit and sat forward slightly.

"We are going to find out about this incident, so you might want to spit it out," Don said impatiently.

"I-I-I know," he stammered nervously, then he looked at them. "You see, um..."


	3. Screwed up

Lindsay, Jo, and Danny met in Jo's office to talk about the case.

"So, what do we have so far?" Jo asked while she sat down in her seat and looked at Lindsay.

"It seems the killer shot her then changed her clothes," Lindsay said as Danny looked confused.

"What? Oh you got to be kidding," Jo said annoyed, still angry that a young man had hit a 17 year old girl.

"The shirt Adam processed tested positive for GSR and he found a red stain on the bottom of the shirt which he processed and it came out to be ketchup. I tested a .45 and the caliber is a match to the one we pulled out of Darlene but no hits on AFIS."

"This is what she had for lunch. A cheeseburger, fries, and some soda, but I'm not sure how much she ate," Danny said, smirking a bit.

"I take it that was the stomach contents?" Jo asked then Danny nodded.

Mac walked in. "Well, I've called Adam and told him to process the cameras and phones that we got from her friends tomorrow night. Have a good weekend. We will regroup Monday when I get that report."

**March 20th, 9pm-**

Adam walked in the lab and got the evidence box to look over the cameras that were used during the party. He carried the box while he yawned several times to the A/V lab, put the box on the table, and took off the lid off the box and set it aside. He saw a copy of a search warrant for the phones from the party and the date of the party was on the paper. He sat down, yawned while he grabbed the first phone, and hooked it to the USB cord that connected to the computer. He yawned and stretched again while the contents of the video started to play and he watched for a few minutes.

**March 21st, 8am-**

Lindsay and Jo walked into Mac's office who looked very puzzled while reading a report.

"Morning, Mac," Jo said.

Mac didn't sound very pleased when he responded, "Morning."

"Uh oh, what's wrong?" Lindsay asked.

"According to Adam's report there is no assault on the camera he processed last night. And he didn't process the other cameras either," Mac said annoyed.

"Darlene's friends we all talked to, who were at the party, said it DID happen. So what happened?" Jo said then asked confused.

Lindsay had a horrible thought, "Mac, let me look over the videos," she said as she looked at them.

"How long were the videos?" Jo asked.

"The party only lasted three hours. There is no excuse for Adam not finishing his job," Mac said tersely as he nodded to Lindsay to check the videos and Lindsay left his office.

Lindsay left for the A/V lab and sat in the chair, pressing buttons to view the videos for the next half hour. She finally saw Charlie and Darlene talking then listened and watched Charlie hit Darlene. "Oh, Adam. What happened that made you miss this?" She then continued looking over the video then set up the second phone to watch as well. This video also showed the assault.

She heard Mac and Jo walk to the A/V lab as she had to think of something as to why Adam didn't do his job properly. But she couldn't.

"So, was there an assault shown?" Jo asked.

Lindsay turned her chair and looked at her bosses. "Yeah." Mac sighed annoyed.

"So what was up with Adam? Come to think of it, he has been disappearing quite a bit lately," Jo said then asked.

"I don't know but I can't have this kind of sloppiness going on in my lab," Mac said sternly.

"Mac, let me talk to him." Lindsay jumped up, as Mac looked at her. "I know what he is dealing with and I think I can get through to him."

Mac sighed when he looked at Jo and she nodded. "Okay Lindsay, but I don't want this to become a habit."

"I understand, Mac," Lindsay said then sat back in her chair to make a log. A photo printout was made of the assault then after she made out her report, she gave the report and printout to Mac.

Mac and Jo arrived at Charlie Harmon's apartment and knocked on the door. Charlie's father answered it. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Detective Taylor and this is Detective Danville, we'd like to speak to Charlie."

"Charlie isn't home. May I ask what this is about?" Mr. Harmon asked.

"We'd like to talk to him about a party he attended," Jo said.

"Do you know when he'll be home?" Mac asked.

"I don't know anything about a party he was at. I don't know when he will be home," Mr. Harmon said even though what they didn't know was that his son was home and his father knew that.

Mac took out his card from his jacket, raised it to give it to Charlie's father and said, "When he comes home, please have him give me a call."

Mr. Harmon took the card and said, "Okay." Then he closed the door.

After they got to the car Jo got out her cellphone. "How much do you want to bet his daddy is going to call him?" She dialed a number while Mac laughed. "Hello, this is Detective Danville, I need a trace on a phone." She gave them the number and hung up while Mac drove to a diner to eat.

Meanwhile Lindsay went to Adam's apartment and knocked on the door, which opened a few moments later.

"Hi, Adam."

"Hi, Lindsay." Adam let her in and closed the door.

"Did you want anything to drink?" Adam walked over to the couch and motioned to Lindsay she could sit on the sofa.

Lindsay said, "No, I'm fine," while she sat down and Adam sat in the love seat.

"What's going on? When you called it sounded very important. Sorry I couldn't meet you somewhere," Adam said as he motioned to his room. "Max is asleep since Annie is working and I didn't want to wake him up." Adam had a bad feeling about something.

Lindsay sighed then asked, "When you processed the cameras, did you watch all of the videos?" She looked at him.

Adam thought for a few moments, "I did watch it, but I don't remember when it ended."

Lindsay noticed Adam seemed tired and asked, "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"I haven't been sleeping much and when I came in that night, I was very tired because the night before Annie dropped off Max when she had the night off. I must have fallen asleep in the chair because when I woke up, the video was done then after I wrote my report I realized it was time to go home. Why?"

Lindsay sighed again. "You didn't process one of the videos and you didn't process the evidence properly either. You missed the victim being slapped."

Adam rubbed his hair and groaned, "Mac must be mad."

"He is very disappointed, yes." Lindsay put her hand on Adam's shoulder and said sternly, "As your friend, Adam, you really need to deal with this situation because you can't let it affect your job."

"I know, but she just doesn't want to be a mom and I'm trying to set her straight and when I told her I had to work Saturday night, she got mad," Adam said then he and Lindsay got up and walked to the door.

"Being a new mom is an adjustment and it's hard but if you two plan ahead, you won't run into these problems."

"I know but it's just hard to talk to her when she's just dropping him off then is gone by the time you say anything."

"Night, Adam," Lindsay said while Adam opened the door and let Lindsay out.

"Night." Adam closed it, walked over to the couch and laid on it, then fell in a slumber.

After Mac and Jo had finished their dinner, they went back to the car and got in when Jo's cell rang and she reached into her pocket, slid it out, and answered it. "Danville. Yes, okay. It seems the only calls that were made to the home are from telemarketers but he hasn't made any calls to his son," she told Mac, lowering the phone slightly from her ear.

"There is a police unit in the parking lot so if it turns out he doesn't come home, we will go back tomorrow with a material witness order."

"I'm wondering if the son his home," Jo said, raising her eyebrow in suspicion.

"As a mother, if you weren't in law enforcement, would you lie?"

She hesitated and said, "I don't think so but I would be nervous if I didn't have a good relationship with my kids."

**March 22nd, 8am-**

Jo parked her car outside the precinct where Don was waiting outside. He opened the door and hopped in.

"Did you get it?"

"Right here," Don said as put his hand inside his jacket and pulled out a warrant then slid it back in.

"I hope Mr. Morgan isn't home. For some reason I think he was lying about his son's whereabouts," Jo replied while she backed up the car and drove towards the Morgan home.

They arrived at the apartment complex where a few more officers were stationed outside the complex.

Mac stood near Don while Danny stood near Jo. Jo stood at one side and Don stood on the other side of the door, Don reached out his hand, made a fist, and knocked. Jo leaned forward to see if she could hear anything but she couldn't. Don motioned to the landlord to unlock the door then he stood to the side and Jo opened the door.

"NYPD! We have a warrant!" Don yelled then they walked in, guns drawn.

"Put your hands up!" Danny yelled at Mr. Harmon and a few other people who were at the table.

"What is going on?" one of the men asked, annoyed.

Officers went in other rooms and cleared them while Danny and Jo stood near the table.

"He's not here," Don said.

"Where is your son, Mr. Harmon?" Jo asked.

"Why do they want him?" another man asked.

Charlie's mother spoke up. "Officers, I don't know where my son is. I'd like you to leave, now."

"I'm sorry but I have a material witness order," Don explained.

"What does that mean?" she asked annoyed.

"That means he may be a witness to a crime and we'd like to talk to him," Danny said.

"Well, he was home last night so I don't understand why you didn't come then," Charlie's mother said then she looked at Mr. Harmon who looked angry at her.

"Why don't you just shut your damn trap," Mr. Harmon said, realizing he was in trouble.

"I'm sick of these damn cops always coming for Charlie! Last time they picked him up, he had an open bottle of beer in his hand while he was walking!" Mrs. Harmon said angrily.

"Okay, I guess we aren't leaving empty handed," Don said as he pulled out his cuffs.

"What do you mean by that?" Mrs. Harmon asked.

"We came by last night and your husband told us he wasn't home," Mac said as Don cuffed him up.

"It would be in your son's best interest if he comes in and we don't have to chase him," Jo said.

The people at the table looked at them shocked.

Mac's cellphone rang, so he slid it out of his pocket and answered it while he walked away. "Taylor. Okay, we'll be right there."


	4. Arrest made?

Adam happened to be at the diner eating, when he noticed Charlie was there and called Mac. When Mac and Jo arrived, Charlie was just finishing up his breakfast with his friend. They walked in, looked around, then noticed Charlie and his friend walking towards the front so they could pay for their food. They didn't notice two detectives walking towards them.

"Charlie Harmon?" Mac asked.

"Who's asking?" Charlie asked, not happy to see two people call his name.

Mac moved the side of his jacket to show his badge and said, "I'm Detective Taylor and this is Detective Danville. We have a material witness warrant."

"Man, you cops are the same. I want a lawyer so he can file harassment charges against you," Charlie angrily said.

"That's fine. Maybe we will file assault charges against you as well," Jo said sarcastically.

Charlie scoffed, "Y'all are trippin'."

After the lawyer spoke with Charlie at the precinct, they went in the interrogation room where Jo and Mac met them. Jo put the laptop and file on the table.

"So, my client gets pulled out of breakfast because you didn't go to his house last night," Roy Dibble said.

Jo stifled her laughter while she sat down and Mac remained standing near the table. "We know he was home but his dad told us he wasn't. His father is now looking at an obstruction charge."

Charlie sat forward and looked at his lawyer, asking, "Can they do that?"

Roy looked at him. "If you were home and your father said you weren't, yes." He looked at the detectives and said, "You say my client committed assault. I don't see a report by Darlene Viola."

Mac and Jo looked at each other then she took out some pictures that showed the assault. "Here is the evidence."

"These can be photo-shopped. But since there is no complaint filed, then there is no charge," Roy said.

Mac then sat next to Jo, turned on the laptop, turned it towards them, and played part of the tape. Mac told them as Charlie looked nervous, "We also have witnesses."

"How about a search warrant?" Roy asked. Jo put it on the table right in front of him. "I still don't see a complaint filed against Charles." Roy crossed his arms and smirked.

Mac and Jo looked at them quietly.

"You gotta be kidding me," Charles said annoyed.

"That's what I thought," Roy said as he started to get up.

Mac walked over and stood behind Charlie before firmly saying, "Sit your ass down!"

"What is this?" Charlie asked annoyed as he was angry at Mac for pushing him back to his seat.

Roy then sat back down as well. "It was in the heat of the moment, I'm sure my client will apologize to Darlene."

Jo started to laugh. "I'm sorry, I have to get some air." She got up and went in the viewing room since she started to get upset while Roy looked at Mac confused.

"I think your woman needs to man up and be a woman," Charlie said rudely.

Mac stared at Charlie, narrowing his eyes at him. "No. It's just that you hit a girl, a few days later she is dead. We find out about you hitting her so we come to your home and your father says you are not home when you are. You better have a good alibi pal, because you are my number one suspect."

"Wait a minute, I didn't do this!" Charlie yelled.

Roy said, "Let me talk to Charlie alone." Mac stood up, took the files as well as the laptop, and went in the interrogation room.

He looked at Jo and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think?"

"I don't think he did it. And plus the way he reacted when you told him she died just doesn't seem like someone who did it."

Mac saw Roy approach the glass. "We'll find out." Roy knocked then sat back down while Mac went back in the room and sat down.

Charlie asked somberly, "Is she really dead?"

"Yes, she is," Mac said.

"How?" Charlie asked.

"She was shot," Mac said somberly as he looked at him. "So, where were you on March 17th from noon until three?"

"I was at a club where some of my friends were practicing their performance in the band."

Mac gave him a pad and pen and said, "Okay. I need their information." Charles wrote down the names of people who were there that day.

**At the impound yard-**

Adam and Lindsay looked over Darlene's car that was found two hours earlier in a parking garage.

"I think our killer was starting her period," Adam said as he swabbed the blood on the car seat.

"Why do you say that?" Lindsay asked, a little annoyed.

"Because there is quite a bit of blood on the seat where we sit."

Lindsay thought for a moment. "I did find a tampon in the bathroom at Darlene's home and it didn't belong to her or her mother." She continued to look in the trunk where she saw a white sheet. "I bet the killer wrapped her in this sheet after killing her but I can't see anyone not notice a woman carrying a body over their shoulder."

"Is there any blood on the sheet?"

"No," Lindsay said while she put the sheet in the evidence bag.

Adam finished processing for fingerprints then went in the back seat and saw something he thought was very interesting. "Lindsay, I think she was shot here."

"What makes you say that?"

"I see gunshot residue on the seats, and blood on the window, as well as more GSR."

"That must have been loud." Lindsay walked over to the door of the back seat.

"Maybe she changed her in here, waited a few hours for the blood to dry." Adam got out and stood near Lindsay.

Lindsay shook her head. "I'm not so sure Adam."

**At the lab-**

The lab had gotten video of Darlene buying her lunch at a fast food drive thru. Sheldon was seated, scanning over the video, and saw a woman in the passenger seat. Mac walked up to him as he turned his head towards him then turned back to the screen.

"Anything?"

"This woman may have been the last person to see her alive but the angles of the cameras just make it difficult to get a good photo ID." Sheldon pointed to the box and said, "I have more to look through."

"Okay. I'm going home for the night. See you tomorrow. Night."

"Night, Mac."

Mac walked away while Sheldon finished looking over the video, then he completed the daily log before heading home for the night.

**At a party later that night-**

Adam met Annie and Max at a friend's birthday party. He was dressed casually while she wore a dress and Max wore a blue onesie but slept most of the time.

"Glad you guys could make it," Angela Morgan said.

Annie smiled as she put her arm around Adam's neck. "Thank you for inviting us and letting Max sleep in your room."

"No problem," Angela said with a smile then went to talk to some more friends.

"How is work going?" Adam asked her.

"Good. Just glad to be doing something else but I really wish you can just leave the lab when you can," Annie said.

"I cannot keep doing that," Adam told her.

Annie folded her arms and looked at him annoyed. "Does anyone in the lab know about Max?"

"Yes," Adam said.

"How many and who?" Annie asked.

"Two. One of them knows because I had left a crime scene because you needed me. I should be lucky she isn't my boss," Adam said nervously.

"I guess you guys don't talk about your home lives, huh?" Annie was upset.

"No. And if one of my co-workers suddenly has a girlfriend or is having problems, he won't tell us," Adam said.

"Oh. I guess I can see that, I mean, I don't tell my co-workers much about you or Max," Annie said.

"I'm sorry that it upset you," Adam said.

"I'm going to go talk to some other friends, okay?" Annie said while she put her arms down and walked away.

A few minutes later he walked towards the kitchen when Tim Guillen, a friend of Annie's, stopped him.

"Hi. You must be Adam Ross."

Adam was taken aback since he didn't know Tim then responded, "Yeah. How did you know?"

"I'm Tim Guillen and I went out with her a few times. When you guys had your pictures taken, she showed me the photo and we loved it."

"Oh, nice. Wait, you went out with her? When?" Adam asked shocked.

"A few months ago and we broke up a month after that. It's too bad Max's real father doesn't even know he exists."

Adam looked at Tim surprised as his eyes got bigger and he exclaimed, "What?"


	5. Where are you?

"She told me who the father was before we broke up," Tim said.

"Who?"

"Scott Zacks. I have a feeling that just the three of us - you, me, and Annie - know who the real father is."

"You're probably right."

**March 23,rd 8am-**

Adam arrived at the lab after dropping off Max at the precinct day care center. When he got off the elevator, he saw Lindsay with the case file, sitting in the conference room where he had asked her to meet him earlier when he called her. Lindsay sat close to the door while she faced the lab and saw Adam open the door, then walk in and close it.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Annie dropped off Max at my apartment and I fed him and he spit up on this cloth." Adam took out a plastic bag that had the cloth inside.

Lindsay looked at Adam confused and said, "Okay."

"Last night I was talking to an ex-boyfriend of Annie's at a party and he suggested that I'm not the father. Saying it was too bad that the father didn't know Max existed."

"Ex-boyfriend? Why would she have an ex at a party?" She frowned in annoyance.

"I didn't know he was there."

"So, you want to check the paternity to be sure," Lindsay said while she opened the case, took out her gloves then got the evidence bag and put the plastic bag inside.

"I have to admit Lindsay, I never really thought I was the father but after Max was born, I asked her for a paternity test and she said no. I want this off the record."

"Just be prepared that somehow you are the father, okay?" Lindsay took the bag and case with her.

"Okay," Adam said then Lindsay left for the DNA lab and Adam went to the A/V lab to check on some more security videos that Sheldon didn't get to.

**March 25,th 8pm-**

Adam was trying to make up for lost time, and was at the lab about two hours after everyone had left when he got the call. Adam picked up his cell and put it to his ear while he sat back in his chair that leaned back.

"Ross. What? I thought she was going to be home tonight. I'll be there in a bit. Bye." Adam sighed and got up while he put his phone away and headed for the parking garage for the truck. "I really hope Mac doesn't find out about this, or he will really be mad." Adam rubbed his hair while he got in the truck and drove to Annie's.

After he got there, Annie's friend, Tim, let him in.

"Thanks for coming, I thought Annie would have been back by now but my cousin is in the hospital and I want to be there for my family."

"I understand and I'm sorry about your cousin," Adam said as he noticed Max in his crib still awake and looking around. Adam walked Tim out the door then closed it. Adam picked up Max and made his bottle and sat down on the chair.

"So, where did your momma go?" Adam asked him as he continued to eat. Then Adam took the bottle away, and put Max on his shoulder to burp him. After a few minutes Adam fed him again then once Max was fed, he put him in the car seat so he could clean up the kitchen then locked the door.

Adam sat on the couch, took his shoes off, and propped his feet on the table, intending to close his eyes for a few minutes. After two hours he woke up to hear Max crying, so he got up and went over to the crib, picked him up, then put him on his shoulder and took him to the changing table.

"I think someone needs a changing, don't you?" Max whined while Adam put him on the diaper changing table and changed his diaper. "Isn't that better?" Adam asked. Max cooed.

Two hours after Max fell asleep in his crib, Annie came home and was surprised to see Adam on the couch watching TV.

"Adam?" Annie said, smiling in surprise.

"Welcome home. I thought you were home tonight and Tim had a family emergency so he called me," Adam said then continued in a curt voice but not loud enough to where Max could hear. "Where were you? You have a responsibility to Max and you have to start acting like a mother," Adam told her angrily.

Annie looked nervous since she really didn't go out to dinner but she went to a party with some friends. "Well, I went to dinner with some friends and figured Max would be okay. How is Max?" Annie asked in a drunken state, walking over to her son unsteadily, and Adam realized where she had been, despite her lie.

"I got him to go to sleep two hours ago and he's been good. How much have you had to drink?"

Annie laughed as she wobbled. "I had a good time at the dinner, maybe a glass or two," lying to Adam again.

"That must have been some dinner, it's after midnight."

"I'm going to bed. Good night." Annie pinched Adam's cheek before staggering to her room and closing the door.

"Great. Guess I better stay in just in case, I don't think she can even take care of him."

Adam slept on the couch then during the night heard Max cry. Even though Annie had woken up, she just yelled at him to go to sleep, so Adam took care of Max.

**March 30th, 8:30am-**

Mac was in his office, looking over Adam's report that he filed from Sunday, pondering in annoyance why it was done then and not Saturday or even Friday night.

Since Adam had requested a paternity test, everyone but Lindsay noticed how much quieter and nervous he seemed, but they figured that Adam would talk to them about it but he didn't. The results finally came in and Lindsay went to find Adam who was at his desk.

"Adam." Adam turned towards her, and saw she was holding the test results. She said, "I got it."

Adam got up, paced for a few moments, turned towards her, and said, "Okay. I have thought a lot about what you said but I still don't believe I am the father. I realize that if I am indeed the father, I have to figure a lot of things out because I'm not sure I can handle this." He licked his lips then looked at her when he said, "I have said my piece."

"Adam, you are not Max's father." Lindsay smiled at him.

"I'm not?! Great!" Adam said quietly but excitedly and he hugged her. He went to his chair and sat down. Adam sighed and said, "Thanks." Lindsay patted him on the shoulder then as she moved her hand, she turned to walk away while Adam sighed in relief.

**Friday, April 1st-**

Adam had gotten home from work when Annie showed up unannounced with Max and walked in.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

"I'm going to a party and I need you to take care of Max. I will be back very late tonight so I won't pick him up but I'll pick him up tomorrow night after work."

"Annie, come on. You gotta-..." Adam said irritated.

"I really have to go, I love you," she said. She put the car seat on the table, blew a kiss to Max then Adam, and she turned away to the door.

By the time Adam was able to say anything, she had already left, closing the door behind her. Adam sighed annoyed when he said, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

The next morning Adam woke up and checked on Max who was sleep in the car seat, so he went to take a shower. After he got dressed, he fed Max then had breakfast while Max was in his car seat watching him, then he got the dishes done. He took Max to Annie's apartment so he could get some baby formula and bottles since he only had two bottles with him. He realized Annie never came home last night, but he decided to wait in her apartment for a while, so he sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Adam took Max out of the car seat and laid him on the couch next to him.

"Uh!" Max whined then Adam looked at him. "Ahhh."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not sure about this either." Adam said with a smile while Max looked towards him.

**Late afternoon-**

Adam started to get worried since Annie was slated to be off work a few hours earlier. He had called her on her cell phone throughout the day, but the calls kept going straight to voice mail. He and Max left her apartment and and went to her work where Adam spoke to the manager. They went to the waiting area since there were no customers.

"Did Annie show up?" Adam asked while Max was at his feet in the car seat.

"No. She didn't call and was supposed to work last night but didn't. Is something wrong?" the manager asked.

"She was supposed to pick up Max but I think I'm going to have to file a missing persons." Adam grabbed Max as both he and the manager stood up.

"Okay." They shook hands and Adam walked away while getting on his cell.

"Mac. I need to see you in your office. My girlfriend hasn't come home, she has a son who I am taking care of. I think I need to file a missing persons."

Adam arrived at the lab but went to the cafeteria so he could use the water filled coffee pot to warm up Max's formula he had in the bottle. As he sat down, he picked up Max and cradled him in one arm and fed him while some lab techs noticed and laughed because of how cute it looked. After he was fed, Adam went in Mac's office while holding Max and showing him the awards and pictures on the wall, talking to him.

Adam then sat down, rubbed Max's back as he sat back, sighed, and just waited for Mac to arrive.


	6. Chapter 6

Mac walked in to see Adam on the sofa with Max on his shoulder, sleeping.

"Hi, Adam," Mac said while he walked to his desk and pulled out a missing persons report. He walked to the chair close to Adam, turned it to face him, and sat down. He asked for Annie's information as well as where she lived, and details about her family and friends. "I know you are not the father. Do you know who the father is?" Mac asked while he looked at him. Adam looked at Mac surprised that he knew that Adam wasn't the father even though Mac never told him. "No. It seems Annie told some guys she once dated, me included, that they were the father. Last week I was told someone else was the father."

"Who told you and who is supposed to be the father?"

"Tim Guillen told me that Scott Zacks is the father. Scott doesn't even know that Max exists and he lives in New Jersey. I dated Annie eight and a half months ago, two months later we broke up and got back together a few weeks ago. After I was told who the father was, off the record I asked Lindsay to do a paternity test and I got the results Wednesday and I'm not the father," Adam said when he put Max on the couch next to him. He rubbed Max's tummy a little as he whined a bit then quieted down but stayed awake.

"So, that's why you haven't been yourself the last few weeks."

"Yeah. There are some things that I did that I'm not proud of concerning the lab and missing time as well."

Mac asked while he crossed his arms and sat back, "What did you miss?"

"I left the lab early on several occasions because Annie needed me."

Mac looked at Adam sternly then inquired, "Anything you missed doing, Adam?"

Adam was nervous since he just knew Mac knew something when he said, "Uh, no?"

Mac narrowed his eyes at him and asked sternly, "Crime scene ring a bell? Making Lindsay cover for you?"

Adam realized Mac knew and said, "I swear, Mac, I didn't ask her to cover for me. She, uh..."

"What about the report you made on Sunday? Why did you do it so late?"

"Because I was trying to finish some work then had to be called to Annie's apartment because she said she was at dinner and the friend who was watching him had a family emergency. I ended up staying on the couch at her apartment after she came home since she was drunk. Turns out, when Max cried a few times during the night, she just yelled at him."

"What about the camera evidence that showed Darlene Viola being attacked? Did you leave the lab then?"

"No, the night before I didn't get any sleep because Annie had dropped off Max at my apartment and Max just kept me awake."

Mac smirked at the thought of Adam taking care of a baby then Jo and Don walked in.

Jo drawled, "Fatherhood looks good on you, Adam." She smiled and so did the guys.

"Thanks. I do have a request, I'd like to get the crib, toys, and the formula?" Adam asked as he looked at Max who looked at him.

"Have you been to her apartment?" Don asked while Mac went to his computer to triangulate her cell phone number then made some calls.

"Yeah, today, just waiting for her to come home. I went by her work and they said she didn't call nor show up even though she also was supposed to work last night, too," Adam said.

"Nothing. Either the cell is off or the battery is dead. I've already called Sheldon and Lindsay to search her apartment while Danny and Don go talk to her employer," Mac said.

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her?" Don asked.

"The only people I can think of is maybe the guys who were told they were the father. I have to admit, I felt angry at her for telling her friends that I was the father then when I told her I wasn't some of them got mad," Adam said.

"Who got mad?" Jo asked.

"One of her friends, Traci Moon. Either she doesn't like me or men in general."

"I just realized something, why do you have Max? I take it you aren't the father?" Jo looked at Adam.

"No, I'm not even though I am on the birth certificate," Adam explained.

"I'll take you off the roll for night shifts and if you get a call to go to a crime scene, just call me or Jo if you have Max," Mac said.

"Okay," Adam said then put Max in the car seat while he and Jo went to the garage and Mac made some calls.

"Wait, where does Max go during the day when Annie goes to work?" Don asked.

"The Crime Lab Daycare," Adam said.

After Mac and Jo helped get the items Adam needed for Max to his apartment, they went to interview Traci Moon.

"I think Adam is getting a handle on this fatherhood thing," Jo said as she smiled.

"Really? I'd be nervous," Mac said when he stopped the truck in front of the apartment complex.

"Hopefully Traci will know where Annie is."

Mac picked up his cell phone, and spoke only a few words before hanging up. "That was Flack. It seems Annie wasn't such a great employee after all and was going to be let go the next time she showed up."

They knocked then a few moments later the door opened and they introduced themselves before being let in. Traci closed the door then they went in the living room where she sat in the chair while Mac and Jo sat on the couch.

"Have you talked to or seen Annie?"

"I saw her two days ago when we went to a friend's house to visit with Max," Traci said then continued. "Why, is she in trouble? Is Max okay?"

"She hasn't been heard from since last night and she was supposed to work last night and today. Max is fine," Jo voicing her concern.

"Do you know anyone who would hurt her?" Mac looked at her.

"Maybe Adam Ross. He wasn't too happy about being a father and was upset when she called him to see her while he was working."

Mac looked at her in a fake surprise. "Oh? You mean he left his job so he can help Annie with something? He doesn't care about his job?"

Traci sat back and told them, "Yeah, he left on several occasions and seemed annoyed. Annie told me that he was going to get in trouble if she kept calling him over while he was working."

Jo squinted slightly then inquired, "So, what did Annie need that would make Adam commit dereliction of his duties?" Jo had a feeling Traci really didn't like Adam.

"One time Max was crying a lot and she called Adam then he showed up and helped her with him. I guess he was hungry and she couldn't figure it out."

Jo asked, "Couldn't she handle being a mother? Does she have any other friends she could have asked who have children?"

"Yeah, she does a good job with Max and she has some friends who have kids but Adam is the father and he should help."

"According to the paternity test taken, Adam isn't the father," Jo pointedly said.

"He isn't? I don't know why she would lie like that."

Mac put down his pad and pen on the table and said, "I'd like the names of her friends and anyone who came in contact with Annie."

Traci took the pad and pen and said, "Sure."

Mac gave her his card and told her, "If you remember anything else."

Traci said, "Okay," while she took the card.

Once Mac and Jo got in the truck Jo said, "Mac, I don't agree with Adam leaving the lab the way he did but you can't fire him."

Mac raised his eyebrow as he looked over at Jo. "Wonder what she has against Adam. He doesn't have the best judgment, but his heart is in the right place," he said pensively.

Jo's cell rang. She picked it up and said, "Danville. Yeah, it didn't look like anything was out of place but I'm sure Adam would have called us if something was wrong. Bye." She told Mac, "Lindsay and Sheldon are back to the lab with Annie's computer, Flack is getting an out-of-state paternity test warrant and got the phone records and Danny is looking up her friends as we speak."

"When Adam was telling me about her not coming home, he did give me some information that her parents are deceased and she has no siblings. She only has Adam and maybe a few friends."

**April 3rd, 10am-**

Don and Danny were at Jeremiah's home and were let in after they identified themselves and told him they needed to ask about Annie Stanton.

"Are Annie and Max okay?" Jeremiah asked while they walked to the kitchen.

"Max is okay but Annie hasn't been heard from," Danny said while the guys sat on the chairs.

"Really? I'm glad Max is okay," Jeremiah replied with a concerned face. "Did something happen to her?"

Don rubbed his chin a little then got his notepad and pen out. "Seems she dropped off Max with Adam unannounced on Friday night to go somewhere but told him that she would pick him up yesterday after she got off work. We can't reach her. When is the last time you saw her?"

"Last Thursday afternoon around dinnertime when she came over without Max and my wife, Teresa, and I were home." Jeremiah looked down then looked up with concern. "I got the sense that something was wrong because Annie seemed uneasy and scared. We thought something happened to Max but she said that Adam was taking care of him. She didn't tell us what happened but then that night she called Teresa and asked to have breakfast with her Friday morning. They did have breakfast but Annie was still shaken from something that happened but Teresa didn't tell me what it was or maybe Annie didn't tell her."

"Did she have Max with her Friday morning?" Danny asked.

"Teresa didn't say but I did hear that there was a day care at the lab where Adam works."

"Do you know anyone who would hurt her?" Don asked.

"Teresa might know more because it seemed like she and Annie spent a lot of time together. But I kinda feel like Annie couldn't or didn't want to take care of Max and always left him with Adam when she wanted to go somewhere like a party," Jeremiah said.

"Has she gone to a lot of parties?" Danny asked.

"Seems like it, yeah. Teresa's friend Angela once said to us last week that Annie had gone to a lot of parties or went to bars. Angela Morgan is probably the best person to ask since they seemed to hang out a lot together."

After Jeremiah wrote down the names of other friends, he got the card from Danny then the detectives left.

"Danny, did you know that Adam was taking care of Max?"

"Yeah, Lindsay does, too."

Don asked shocked, "How long have you guys known?"

"A couple of weeks. Adam has called us for some advice but I think Annie really couldn't handle it." They got to the car.

Don said sadly, "Yeah."

"I wonder if Mac knew?" Danny asked.

"Probably a while before Jo and I did, Saturday night. Adam was already talking to him when we had arrived."

The next day a woman, Mary Patton, was driving her car with the windows rolled down. Her stereo blared loudly, and unbeknownst to her, she had a broken tail light. The police car started following her with lights and sirens on, but she kept driving for several minutes since she didn't notice the police. After a few minutes there was another police car that was backing up the chasing car.

Then she noticed them. "Shit!"


	7. Killer

While the gang was at a crime scene, Adam researched some information concerning another case at the A/V lab when he got a phone call from an officer in a jail. He hoped somehow Annie was incarcerated but figured Don would have checked all jails and hospitals.

"Ross. Yeah, okay, I'll check them out. Bye," Adam said then hung up. A few moments later Adam compared the DNA from Mary Patton to the DNA that had been put in the system for crimes that have not been solved. After a half hour he got a hit on the DNA from the tampon and the fingerprints. "Whoa!" He picked up the phone and dialed frantically, not noticing Mac and Danny arrive and go into Mac's office. "Mac, we got Darlene's killer in jail. Okay, I'm going to call the jail and tell them to hold her for a while," Adam said. He hung up the phone then called the jail and relayed the information.

"Adam." After Adam hung up, he couldn't figure out why Mac was so close then he turned to see Mac behind him.

"Boss, when did you get in?" Adam asked before laughing embarrassingly.

"A few minutes ago. You had your back to the office. I'd like you to look over Mary Patton's car that has just come in, and Danny, make sure the evidence does lead us to the killer. Go go over what we have again, and recheck the fingerprints as well."

"Right, Boss," Adam said then left to get his case while Danny went to find the evidence to look over.

Mac went to his office and sat down while he picked up his ringing phone. "Taylor. Yeah, Chief. No, I will not. He had nothing to do with her disappearance and I believe him. No evidence will be compromised either. He's not on the Stanton case." Mac got out of his chair then paced a bit. "NO! I will not! Adam Ross is a good lab tech. His record speaks for itself." The Chief hung up, then so did Mac.

Don walked in, noticing Mac's exasperated tone and asked, "Hey Mac, what's up?"

Mac sighed annoyed. "the chief wants me to put Adam on suspension."

"Why? Mac, no."

"I said suspension, not firing. Somehow he found out about his connection to Stanton and fears he can't be impartial," Mac said when Jo, Lindsay, and Sheldon walked in.

"Yeah." He saw them walk in and said, "I guess the gang is all here."

"Adam is looking over the car that was impounded and Danny is looking over the evidence again in the Viola case since it appears we have the presumed killer in custody for evading," Mac said then picked up the files for the Stanton case. "What do we have in the interviews for Annie Stanton?"

Sheldon started, "Well, she got some threatening e-mails by some guys who didn't like being told they were the father of her son and apparently she was trying to get money out of them. I have the information right here and two of them have criminal records, and one of them, Nick Craig, has been incarcerated before for domestic violence." He gave the report of the other people to Mac then his cell rang. "Hawkes. I'll be there." He hung up and looked at Mac. "Adam said he found a gun in the glove compartment and I'm going to process the gun." Mac waved at him as Sheldon left.

"I like Nicky boy already," Don said.

"Danny got a call from Teresa O'Dell, Jeremiah's wife, a few hours after he and Don left the home and she said that Annie told her that some guy was harassing her but she never told Adam. She did tell Teresa who it was and it was Nick Craig who was harassing her and may have attacked her the day or night before she went to see the O'Dells," Lindsay stated.

Jo recounted, "I've talked to the Trenton PD and they have applied with the court for an out-of-state paternity test for Scott Zacks and will let me know if it has been issued. Adam better be ready to take care of Max for a while but it seems from what Annie's friends have said, he has pretty much taken care of him. They have spoken to Scott Zacks and two weeks after he and Annie broke up, he heard she had gotten pregnant but didn't think he was the father. About two months after they broke up he moved to Trenton and he hadn't seen or talked to her since, but he does talk to some friends who know Annie and phone records do prove it."

Don looked at Mac. "I talked to Angela who said that Annie wasn't thrilled with having Max, and she would always dump him with a friend or Adam. Angela tried to explain to Annie that she needed to settle down but Annie wouldn't hear of it and Annie told her she was going bar hopping Friday night. I got the addresses of some of bars."

"Let's go," Mac said then everyone left the office while Mac and Don went to the bar where Annie was last seen.

Jo went to check on Danny who walked towards her. "Did we get her, Danny?"

"We can place her in the car and Darlene's home but I'd feel better if we can find the gun and put it in her hand," Danny said as he stopped in front of Jo and Lindsay.

"Well, Adam found the gun in the car and Sheldon is running ballistics," Lindsay said.

"We can hold her while we search her apartment. I'll get a warrant and let's go," Jo said while Lindsay and Danny left with her.

Mac and Don arrived at one of the bars and walked in to see it not very busy while they walked to the bartender.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" the bartender asked.

Mac and Don showed their badges then Mac took out a picture. "We want to know if you were here Friday night and if you saw this woman."

"I was here Friday night and I did see that woman. She was pretty drunk when she left with a man," the barkeep replied.

Don scowled slightly and asked, "What time did she arrive and what did he look like?" Don took out his notepad and pen.

"She got here around 10 and was already wasted when she arrived. The guy is a regular customer here and is a jerk. His name is Nick Craig and he was being very possessive of her."

Mac raised his eyebrow and inquired, "Possessive? How?"

"If a guy says hi or smiled at her, Nick puts his arm around her and stiffens up his lip and holds his fist like he's going to give the guy the 'f' finger."

Don rubbed his cheek. "What time did they leave?"

"I'd like to say midnight," the bartender said.

Mac noticed a camera over the bar and asked, "Does that camera work?"

The bartender looked up at the camera then looked at them before answering, "Yep. I can get the video for you."

After they got the footage, Mac took it back to the lab and looked it over since Adam had finished processing the car and was now busy helping Lindsay process Mary's apartment. Danny and Jo went to the interrogation room where Mary waited for them and they were in the viewing room.

Jo looked at Danny and said, "I got a bad feeling about this."

Danny stayed in the viewing room while Jo walked in with a file in her hand and sat down while Mary watched.

"What is going on? I thought it was just evading and eluding," Mary sneered, giving Jo an angry stare that made her nervous but she didn't show it.

After she sat down, Jo stated, "Since we take fingerprints and DNA of all persons taken to jail, yours was put in the system, and your DNA as well as fingerprints were a match to the ones we collected from a murder we're investigating." Jo showed her a photo of Darlene.

Mary laughed manically. "You think I would kill her? I don't even know her." The way Mary laughed made Jo's skin crawl. "And you can't prove that!"

"Yes we can because we found Darlene Viola's car abandoned just a few blocks from her apartment and your fingerprints were on the steering wheel and door handles, and your blood was found on the car seat." Mary laughed while Jo showed her the gun that was processed from her car. "We processed the gun and the bullets are a match to the ones that killed Darlene and your prints are on the gun. We also found a roll of duct tape which matches to that used on Darlene. We have some jewelry that her family confirms belongs to Darlene and I bet your prints are o there, and we found a bat that has blood on it, which we'll match to her too.

Mary laughed again and said, "You can't prove anything."

Jo looked at her steely eyed and said, "Yes I can." Jo showed Mary a picture of the bloody tampon. "I have to tell you, I could not figure out why this tampon was in the bathroom, since her mother was old enough to not have a menstrual cycle, but when we checked the DNA, it didn't belong to the mom or Darlene. We found the car a few days later then once it was processed, I realized something. You know what I realized? You thought you had to go to the bathroom when you were driving her car, then when you got to her apartment after killing her, you went to pee, you realized your tampon needed to be changed. You used her tampon and it wasn't thick enough because there is blood on your seat as well."

Mary bit the side of her lip and licked it, "I pretended to know a friend of hers and we went to a market to buy some food then went to her home. I told her that our friend would meet us there and the fake friend had the key to her house and she believed me. I had the gun in my waistband and we ate in her room then I used a bat to hit her with once she half finished her food. I got a change of clothes and shoes then put her in the backseat then once I went back in, I found a white sheet and put it in the trunk if I needed it. I changed my tampon then finished her food." Jo and Danny cringed.

"Then what?" Jo asked.

Mary never showed any remorse as she finished her story. "I drove her to a desolate area then when she woke up, I took the tape off her mouth and talked to her. She begged me not to kill her and that she didn't want to die. I told her she was going to as she cried then I shot her. I found the casing then drove away just so if anyone heard the shot would think they were hearing things. Twenty minutes after I killed her, I put different clothes and shoes on her to hide what I did then dumped her. Then I went to the parking garage to get my car and dump hers then went back to where I dumped her." Mary smiled at them and said, "Then I saw you guys arriving and looking over her body."

Mary quieted down her laugh then as Jo started take the photo back, Mary quickly got up and put one knee on the table then grabbed Jo's arm and used the other hand to push her backwards.

Jo fell back hard while she spread her legs so her knees didn't hit the table even though Mary pushed Jo to the side and they both fell. Danny was already in the room by the time they hit the ground and he pulled Mary by the shoulders to get her to stop fighting with Jo. Danny was able to pull her off the lab's second-in-command and plant her against the wall. Just as Danny got her restrained, a few officers walked in and put the cuffs on her and took her to booking. Danny turned towards Jo and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked, putting his hands under her chin to turn her face up to look at him, then he put his hands down.

"Yeah. I'm okay, just startled. So, we have her for murder, evading, broken taillight, assault on a police officer." Jo crossed her arms then rubbed them with her hands. "People like her make me want to just not let Ellie out of the house."

Danny smiled a little as he watched two officers escort a resisting Mary to booking. "I don't think I want to let Lucy out of the house anymore."

When they got back to the lab, they saw Mac in the office and walked in.

"What happened to you, Jo?" Mac got up and walked over to her.

"Mary went nuts and attacked me," Jo said then continued. "I'm okay."

"So, we got Darlene's killer," Danny said then slapped the report on Mac's office then left.

"So what is going on with Nick Craig?" Jo asked as she rubbed her temple slightly.

Mac rubbed the back of his neck before answering, "We went to see him but the address he gave was a gym and Flack has an alert for him now."

Jo had a concerned facial expression as she asked, "Do you think Nick knows who the real father is and that Adam has Max?"

Mac looked worried as he replied, "I don't know."

**April 11****th****-**

Adam had finished feeding Max and had him on his shoulder while he burped him when there was a knock at the door. With one hand firmly on Max's back, he walked over to the door, opened it, and saw Don.

"Don? Come on in."

"Thanks, Adam." Don looked around to see the apartment was clean even though there were baby bottles upside down on the towel near the sink so they could dry and the nipples were next to them.

"Sit down. What's up?" Adam continued to pat Max's back when Max let out a burp and they both laughed.

"Well, Adam," Don said, with a sad look on his face.


	8. Their man

"Did they find Annie?" Adam asked as he dreaded the question.

"No, but I got word from New Jersey PD that the paternity test had come back and Scott Zacks is the father. I'm sorry Adam," Don said quietly.

Adam sniffed and replied, "I knew it was going to happen and kinda prepared myself for it but I'm still sad. So what happens next?" Adam put Max on his back on the couch.

"I talked to Scott's attorney and he requests to do everything on Saturday and here his his number." Don gave him a piece of paper with the number and Adam took it. Don said, "He said he didn't know that he was the father but did hear she got pregnant."

"Okay," Adam said while he held back his tears. After Adam walked Don out the door, he put the chain lock on and walked over back to the couch and put Max on his chest and laid down. "We found your daddy, buddy."

"Waaa."

"Yeah, you are going to be in New Jersey at your daddy's and I'm gonna miss you." Adam sniffed then hugged him carefully. "Ugh, I need to change you."

By Wednesday morning, everyone had knew who the real father of Max was and the team gave Adam their support. Adam had just finished with the ballistics testing when his cellphone rang and he picked it up.

"Ross. Okay, I'll be there. Bye."

Lindsay walked down the hall and saw Adam who looked nervous but she pretended not to notice.

"Adam, I need you to do me a favor."

Adam rubbed his hair. "I can't do it now."

"Adam, why? Is it Max?" Lindsay grew concerned.

"No. I can't tell you right now, just... cover for me." Adam walked away from her to the elevator.

Lindsay sighed his name in annoyance, "Adam." Adam didn't hear her since he had already run off to the elevator for the lobby. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Lindsay quietly asked herself then went to do some digging of her own by looking to see who called him.

Meanwhile at the crime scene which was at an abandoned warehouse, Jo and Mac approached the body with Don, who had a notepad in his hand.

"What do we have?" Jo asked as they stopped near the body. She and Mac put their cases down while Mac took his gloves out of his jacket pocket.

Don looked at them and replied, "We have a body that is badly burned and no wallet or ID."

Mac knelt near the body and asked, "Who found the body?"

"It was an anonymous call," Don replied, flipping his notepad closed. He continued, "We are tracking that call."

Jo knelt near the body, opposite of Mac, asking him, "How long do you think the body was here?" She looked at Mac.

"I don't know but it must have been quite a while," Mac said as he noticed how dry the burnt areas were.

"I am really hoping this isn't who I think this is," Jo said worried.

Don looked at her curiously and asked, "What makes you think this is her?"

"Just a feeling," Jo said.

Mac looked at Jo and reminded her, "you can't go by gut feeling, but yea, I hope it's not her."

Jo replied, "I hope not either but at least he has a father," smiling faintly while thinking about little Max.

Don asked, "How is Adam doing?"

Mac and Jo looked at each other then Mac looked at him and said, "Fine, he seems to be taking the news about Max's father pretty well."

Jo said with a slight smile, "I went to see him last night actually and I think he's getting the handle on fatherhood and he's happy that Max will be with his father."

Mac looked over the body and saw something in the rib cage area that looked blue. He got his tweezers and a small glass jar, then picked up the gum from the rib cage. He held it up to take a closer look and replied, "Look what our killer may have left us."

Don snickered, "Oh, a present!"

Mac raised his eyebrow and replied, "Yes, DNA." The ME assistants took the remains back to Sid for a digital autopsy while Mac and Jo went back to the lab. The head was taken to the A/V lab where Sheldon scanned it so the software could do a facial recognition. Mac was in the DNA lab with the gum he had found. He took out a tube that held a Q-Tip, undid the cap, then swabbed the gum and reinserted the cap then put it in a small white paper bag that said DNA, and gave it to a DNA tech. Jo went to see Sheldon who had finished scanning the skull.

Jo walked in to see the digital image of the skull form while Sheldon quietly watched. After a few minutes they had the image and had the computer compare it to missing persons. They noticed Danny in Mac's office, pacing with a worry on his face. Mac walked to his office, opened the door, then closed it behind him.

"I wonder what is going on with him?" Sheldon asked.

"I don't know."

In Mac's office Mac walked to his desk while Danny sat down.

"What is it, Danny?"

"It's Lindsay, I can't get a hold of her and she isn't answering her phone."

Mac looked at him with concern. "I would think she should have her phone on if she went somewhere."

Mac got up, patted Danny on the back then they walked to the A/V lab to check Lindsay's phone while Sheldon and Jo watched.

"What's up?" Jo asked curiously.

"Lindsay isn't answering her phone, in fact, do you know where Lindsay went?" Mac asked.

"No, I just thought she was in the ballistics lab," Jo said.

Danny shook his head. "No, I already checked."

Mac's cell rang; he took it from his belt and put it to his ear and answered, "Taylor." Sheldon's phone and Danny's phone rang also and they picked them up. "Yes, they work for me, are they okay? Send them back to the lab." Mac hung up at the same time as Danny and Sheldon hung up their phones.

Danny groaned angrily, "We have a crime scene at a warehouse." He looked at Mac confused.

"Lindsay is fine, Danny." Mac smiled.

"What?" Danny looked with relief.

"Apparently, Adam got a call on his cell that Annie wanted to meet him and Lindsay found out about the call and followed him," Mac said annoyed.

"We have Annie's cell number flagged." Jo had a look of concern on her face when she continued, "I'm going to see where that call came from." Jo went to track the call but noticed some notes. "Looks like Lindsay made some notes."

"Sorry Danny, but she should have called for back-up," Mac said sternly as he walked away to his office and Danny followed.

"Mac, look, Lindsay was wrong for not having some officers there, but I would have done the same too, if I was in her shoes, and I'm not talking like a husband but as a co-worker."

"I know," Mac said while Danny and Sheldon went to the crime scene.

Thirty minutes later Adam and Lindsay arrived at the lab. Mac was at his desk when he noticed them arrive and waved them in. Adam opened the door for Lindsay then he followed her in. They both sat down nervously.

Mac looked at them with an annoyed look.

"Mac, if someone is to blame, it's me. I didn't tell Lindsay anything but to cover for me and I didn't know there was a body there. I never saw anyone then Lindsay showed up...then the officers and I thought Lindsay had called for back up. I'm sorry, Mac."

Mac sat forward and pinned Adam with a stare. "You know, Adam, what you did was very dangerous. How would you know if someone was there and maybe trying to kill you? Or if they had anything to do with the body PD found, they could make it look like you had something to do with it?" Mac said then his phone rang and he picked it up. "Taylor. Okay, I'll be there." After he hung up the phone, he looked at his detective and lab technician with his familiar steely gaze, telling them both, "Go back to work. Lindsay keep an eye on the facial recognition comparisons to missing persons, and Adam, you need to test the bullets from another case that came in." Adam and Lindsay nodded their heads and got up while Mac did the same. Mac followed them out but only he went to the elevator to go to the garage for the truck.

Half an hour later, Mac, Don, and other officers converged on an apartment where Nick Craig lived. They had bullet proof vests on and their guns drawn as they stood at the sides of the door near the frame.

Don moved his arm towards the door, made a fist, and knocked hard before announcing, "Nick Craig, NYPD! Open up!"

Mac heard noises then nodded to the officer who had a ram and he thrust it against the door that busted open. As soon as the door busted open, gunshots were heard and the officers ducked down, then Mac and Don carefully walked in once the shooting stopped and the officers followed.

"Put the gun down now!" Mac shouted.

Nick hid behind a table as he saw officers with their guns drawn. "No! I want my son from that damn cop! Annie told me I was his father and I want him! I want that cop arrested for illegally having my son in his custody!"

"There are other ways of handling this, you know? Taking him to court but then you'd have to have a paternity test to be sure that you are the father. Bad news pal, you aren't the father," Don said.

Nick's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "What? You mean she lied to me?"

"Yeah, seems she lied to every guy she ran into during the time she got pregnant," Mac said.

Nick looked sad as he lowered his gun, "Really? I'm not?"

"No, you are not! Now, put the gun on the floor, and kick it to me," Don commanded.

"Why would she do that?" Nick set the gun on the floor, put his hands in the air, and stifled his tears.

The officer took the cuffs, told Nick to put his hands behind his back, and cuffed him.

Don approached Nick and led him out, stating firmly, "Let's go."

At the precinct, Nick was in the interrogation room waiting for Mac and Don who entered a few minutes later.

Don slapped the file on the table and sat down while Mac remained standing near Don.

"Because you've been in trouble with the law, we have your prints and DNA in the database. Your prints are all over Annie's apartment." Don opened the file, took out a plastic bag that had a piece of gum in it, and said, "You were near that burnt out body because this is the gum you chewed. I bet you killed her."

Nick stifled his tears and said, "Yes, I went to her apartment so I could find out where that damn cop lived but I couldn't find anything on where he lived." Mac walked over to the table, leaned forward, and put his hands on the sides.

"Why did you want to see that cop?" Mac felt angry at him.

"I wanted to take that kid away from him because he isn't the father," Nick said. "Are you serious that I'm not the father?"

Don gave him the paternity test report and said, "Here."

He read over the report then handed it back to him.

"Where is Annie?" Mac asked angrily.

Nick realized he had left behind a key piece of evidence, and there was no way he could hide what he did. Reluctantly, he confessed, "I killed her and burned her remains because she still wouldn't tell me where the kid was and she kept telling me I was the father. I wasn't going to let her go."

"So, it was your gum at the scene?" Mac asked.

"Yes, I was there. The gum must have fallen out just before I set her on fire. She was already dead when I did it.

"What about the body at the warehouse? When we compare voice samples, I think we will find out that you are the one who called the cops," Don said.

While Don and Mac were interrogating Nick, Jo and Adam were in the viewing room. She had her hand on his shoulder as he stifled his tears.

"I still can't believe that it was Annie's body that was burnt. But what about the body that was found at the warehouse?"

"It seems the body was just dumped, and it's not related to Annie's case, just a John Doe."

"Wow, I guess I should be glad Lindsay tracked me down."

"Yeah. Do you recognize him?"

"No, I don't."

"I'm sorry, Adam."

"Thanks." Adam looked at his watch and said, "I have to go get Max from daycare so I'll see you."

"Bye," Jo said quietly while she watched the interrogation while Adam left the room quietly.

**Saturday morning 7am-**

Adam didn't sleep well since he knew Max would be leaving. He checked in on him, then took a shower and got dressed. After he changed and dressed Max, he took him to the living room and put him in the car seat and made his bottle. After a few moments of warming it up, he picked up Max, moved the chair away from the table so he could sit down and feed him, then cradled Max in his arm. After Max was burped and fed, he was put in the car seat so Adam could bring out the packed box he had ready for the pickup truck to arrive. After the pickup truck left with the stuff, Adam looked to make sure nothing was left behind that he could take but there wasn't anything that was needed.

"So, you are going to be with your daddy, huh?"

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Adam looked at the door, confused.


	9. Return

Adam got up, holding onto Max over his shoulder, and went to the door. After looking through the peephole, he opened it.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing here? You don't think I'm runnin' do you?" Adam said. Adam smiled while he let in the Messers and they laughed.

They walked to the living room while Lucy ran over to the couch and sat on it, Danny looked around, and Lindsay sat next to Lucy.

"No, we want to take you out to breakfast and Lucy wants to say goodbye," Lindsay said.

"Well, he already ate," Adam laughed.

"So where is all the stuff?" Danny asked.

"Scott had a friend come and take it in his truck. I just have to take him and a few other things with us," Adam said.

"Can I hold him first?" Lucy asked.

Adam sat down next to her and slipped Max into her arms. Lucy cradled him carefully.

"How's that?" Adam asked.

"Good," Lucy said, looking at Max, then she leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"You didn't sleep much did you?" Lindsay asked while Danny smirked.

"No, I haven't slept the last week or so," Adam admitted.

"Waaa. Waaa."

"Mommy!" Lucy cried then Max stopped crying.

"It's okay, honey, he stopped crying. He probably just had a bad dream," Lindsay said.

"Ready?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," they all said at the same time. Adam took Max from Lucy then put him in the car seat, picked it up, then walked to the door.

After a while they arrived at a diner; it wasn't very busy and they were seated. Lindsay and Lucy sat on one side of a booth, while across from them were Danny and Adam, with Max in between the men.

The waitress arrived and asked, "Anything to drink?" She held up her pad and pen.

Danny looked at her and said, "I'll have coffee."

"I'll have the same as him," Lindsay said then continued, "She will have milk."

The waitress looked at Adam, who let her know, "I'll have orange juice." He smiled at her after she told them she would be back with their drinks. After they ordered, their food came a few minutes later and they started eating.

Lindsay cut up Lucy's French toast and she started eating while Adam looked at Max who was awake and watching them eat. Adam whispered, "I'm gonna miss you," to Max, not realizing they could hear him. Danny and Lindsay looked at each other and smiled then continued eating.

Max whined a little then shifted in his seat.

"I guess things will be back to normal?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. I didn't realize how much work it was to take care of Max but thanks, guys, for your help," Adam told them.

"Anytime, Adam," Lindsay said as she smiled.

"Yeah, anytime, buddy," Danny said as he put his hand on Adam's shoulder. Danny and Adam looked at each other momentarily then went back to eating.

"So, Adam, do you get to see him when you want?" Lucy asked.

Adam sighed, "No. He now belongs with his daddy."

"Could you ask him?" Lucy turned her head sideways a bit.

"I could but I doubt he will," Adam said.

"It's kinda like a toy belonging to you and you didn't let Kristy play with it, remember?" Danny reminded her.

"Yeah," Lucy said, then she moved her head straight then picked up a piece of french toast with her fingers and slipped it into her mouth.

Danny took notice. "I saw that. Use your fork." Everyone giggled while Lucy looked surprised.

After they finished, Danny paid for the food then they headed out to the sidewalk.

"Well, when do you make the arrangements to drop off Max?" Lindsay asked.

"He's going to call me when the people who took the stuff bring it to him and they have the room ready." Adam looked at his watch while his other hand held the car seat by the handle. "He should have already gotten it and maybe got most of the stuff in there by now since it has been a couple of hours."

"What are you going to do tonight?" Danny asked with a smirk.

Adam smiled and said, "Probably go to bed early." He laughed.

"I'll see you, Monday," Danny said, as Lindsay hugged Adam and so did Lucy. Lucy also gave Max a kiss on the forehead.

A while after Adam got home, he sat on the couch with Max on one arm, and his other hand holding the bottle to Max's mouth so he could eat. Max moved his hands to rub his eyes since he was sleepy, then after a few moments, Adam put Max on his shoulder and burped him. He set him on the couch, then propped his feet on the table and sighed quietly. After a few moments, he fell asleep.

Twenty minutes later, he woke up to his cell ringing. He slipped it out of his pocket, yawned, then put it to his ear. "Ross. Hi, Scott. Okay, we can meet there, Bye." Adam hung up then slipped the phone back in his pocket, got up, walked around the apartment as he checked to make sure he didn't have anything left behind, then he walked around the couch and looked at Max and said, "Hey buddy, we're going to go see your daddy." Adam wiped away a few tears, put Max in the car seat, grabbed the diaper bag, then left for a restaurant where they would meet Scott.

Several subways and a bus ride later, they arrived at the restaurant. Adam noticed Max was awake because of the noises he made. He walked to the door and opened it. He looked around the waiting area and saw a few people but they didn't notice him. Adam then sat down, took Max out of the car seat, and put him on his shoulder while they waited. People who were already there were taken to the dining area.

The hostess who had just started her shift walked up to Adam and asked, "Did you want to be seated, sir?"

"No, I'm waiting for someone but we won't be dining."

The hostess looked at Adam with a smile. "Okay." She walked away and saw an elderly couple walk in and she seated them.

After a few minutes Scott and his wife walked in with her two year old daughter. They saw Adam and Max, and walked quietly towards Adam with smiles on their faces, happy that Max was well taken care of. Adam took Max off his shoulder and turned him towards his father.

"Is that your daddy? Huh?" Adam stifled his tears then turned Max towards his step-sister. "You gotta sister, too." He kissed Max then carefully handed him over to Scott.

Scott licked his lips slightly while he took Max. "Hi, son." Tears welled up in his eyes as he hugged him.

"Here is his diaper bag, the bottles are in here if he gets hungry," Adam said while he gave the bag to Scott's wife who thanked him.

Scott continued to hold his son while he asked, "So, have they found the guy who killed her?"

"Yeah, they did," Adam said as he didn't feel he needed to say more.

"Um, my lawyer suggested that we tell the media that we will be meeting at the 12th precinct but suggested to change the location but don't let the media know."

"Okay," Adam said while he rubbed his forehead.

"Thank you for taking care of him when Annie couldn't," Scott said as they both shook hands.

"I was happy to help," Adam responded with a smile then they all went out the door.

Adam watched while Scott's wife put their two year old in the car seat then set up the second car seat and Scott put Max in it. Scott and his wife waved to Adam then they drove away while Adam hailed a cab and went home.

Adam wiped away a few tears while he walked over to the sofa, grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, and sat down. After a few minutes his phone rang. He picked it up and noticed it was from Mac.

"Ross. Hi, Mac. Yeah, everything was fine, Scott's lawyer had told the media we would be meeting at Flack's precinct but we actually met at a restaurant maybe ten miles away. Mac? Thanks for helping me out. I'll see you Monday, bye."

Adam hung up. He watched some TV as he fell asleep, exhausted from his few days of fatherhood, and torn between feeling happy that Max was with his father, and sad he was never going to see Max again.


End file.
